A Madness Most Discreet
Yoochun/Junsu
Romance, G
A/N: Attempt at the Halloween contest fic. The idea behind this was made into a 2Min fic originally but I added in lots more details for the YooSu version (YooSu Version was 5 pages in Word while 2Min was only 2 pages T____T oh what my OTP does to me...) It starts off crack-ish but gets more serious in the end OTL
“It’s time.”
Changmin says it dramatically. Maybe too dramatically as Junsu almost cringes in shame for his best friend. But what else can he expect from an “evil genius” (as Changmin called himself) besides a little bit of madness every once in a while? Wait, scratch that. Shim Changmin is the epitome of a brilliant mind who erased that fine line between genius and insanity ever since he was brought into this world. So it’s not just “every once in a while” that Kim Junsu-the assistant/best friend of this mad scientist-is subjected to crazy, idiotic, out-of-this-world yet somehow still brilliant experiments. It’s more like every day.
And tonight is no different. A fan of superstition and classical literature, Changmin wanted this experiment done at All Hallow’s Eve with the skies filled with dark clouds, falling rain, thunder, and lightning. Lots and lots of lightning. For the past few weeks Junsu had been scouring the weather forecasts on the end of October and found them all to be far from what the scientist wanted. But Changmin, whose 167th childhood dream was to give life to the story of that legendary being with perhaps a modern twist to it, wanted to do the experiment so badly that he constructed a weather machine in just an hour. And it’s exactly that contraption that Junsu is currently tinkering with.
“More lightning, more lightning!”
Changmin screams dramatically as if he were playing a character in a stage play. Junsu rolls his eyes and looks outside to see more and more lightning stream through the gray clouds against the inky black sky. He mutters a silent apology to the children who wanted but cannot go out trick or treating or to attend a Halloween party.
“Blame this evil maniac.” Junsu mumbles as he sets the contraption to high and more lightning comes out.
Changmin laughs maniacally and screams, “Pull the lever, Igor!”
Junsu makes a face. “Yah! I know you are getting too much into character but, what the hell, Changmin?”
“Fine. Fine.” The scientist pouts. “Junsuie-hyung, please pull the lever. Thank you!”
“That’s better, I think.” Junsu mumbles as he moves towards the edge of the room where the lever was. He pulls it and Junsu suddenly has this idea that his best friend should really have been a stage actor instead of a dangerous scientist then perhaps the world would have been a better place. He abandons the idea, though, knowing that no theater in the right mind would hire someone like Changmin so he resorts to just watching the lightning runs through the metallic rods that were sticking out of the opened roof. Junsu watches, too, as his forever-dramatic best friend raise his arms up and almost jump, at the same time screaming, “It’s alive! It’s alive!”, despite the fact that the thing on the makeshift table still hasn’t shown any sign of life.
After five minutes, Junsu pulls the lever again and turns off the weather machine. He walks up to Changmin just as the scientist is pulling the white sheet off the thing.
“You do know that the lightning show was really unnecessary, right?” Junsu asks.
“I know. But I cannot resist. Ever since I was three years old I’ve always imagined an older me creating life with the help of lightning and on All Hallow’s Eve. I’ve idolized Dr. Frankenstein then and still do now.”
“Changmin, first of all it’s called Halloween here in the 21st century. Second, you’ve idolized all brilliant minds from Einstein to Tesla to even that dog we saw on TV. Third, thank goodness you didn’t build this from old cadavers and such. I’ve been actually afraid for a week thinking you’ll do that.”
“Hyung, as much as I love experimenting with the dead in the name of science, evil science, I can’t. They smell and the smell would make me lose my appetite and you know that is the most horrible thing that could happen to me.”
“Yes, yes.” Junsu answers almost exasperatedly. “I’ve already memorized the story of how significant your appetite is by heart, thank you very much. By the way,”-Junsu slowly pokes the thing on the makeshift table and feels something exactly like human skin-“this isn’t made from real skin, is it?”
Changmin smiles proudly. “No, hyung. I made this synthetically and, humbly speaking, I think that this is one of my most brilliant, simple inventions of all time! It’s really like real human skin! I’ve constructed it using animal fats, synthetically manufactured proteins-”
“Save me the lecture, Changmin-ah and just turn this thing on and you can actually yell out ‘It’s alive!’ or something.”
“Fine.” Changmin makes a face at Junsu before facing his best creation, so far, and turning the switch on.
The android opens his eyes and stares at the world for the first time.
Changmin names him Yoochun, a name that was previously owned by a guinea pig that was used in an experiment for genetic engineering. Junsu agrees that it was better than the scientist’s first choice which was Quibbling Nagini Longbottom. Way better.
Changmin spends the remaining hours of Halloween tinkering with Yoochun, perfecting any primary glitch the android shows. Junsu spends the night watching Changmin and assisting him here and there. He secretly gets a little uncomfortable as the androids’ seemingly lifeless eyes stare at him the whole time. Junsu shrugs it off as simply the effect of exhaustion and the ghost movies he watched earlier that day.
Language, logic and every internal piece of knowledge, both simple and complicated (besides movement as it was programmed earlier on), are placed in a microchip. Changmin inserts this chip on Yoochun’s brain last and screws its head back on.
To Junsu’s shock, Yoochun’s first words are an introduction directed to him.
“It’s my greatest creation.”
“You say that every time, Changmin-ah.” Junsu exasperatedly answers the pompous and arrogant scientist.
“No, this time it’s for real. I mean, an android originally designed as a simple replication of a lesser form of a human being yet a definitely higher form of robot became more! I can humbly say that it’s one of the most brilliant inventions…”
Junsu blocks out Changmin’s self-praise as he stares at Yoochun. It had surprised both him and Changmin when they noticed his movements, actions, just everything seemed life-like. Accurately, it’s more than just life-like. In fact, Yoochun is almost human. His outer appearance, his voice, his speech, his actions… If Changmin hadn’t built it in front of him, Junsu would have believed Yoochun is really human.
“What are you looking at?” Yoochun’s voice is velvety, dreamy even. “Is there something on my face?”
A moving, talking android asking if something as normal as a spot of dirt was the reason for someone looking at it. Junsu almost laughs at the idea. He chuckles lightly and Yoochun’s lips instantly form a frown, and a perfect, good-looking frown at that. Junsu couldn’t help but stare.
“You are making me puzzled, Junsu-sshi.” Yoochun pouts perfectly.
“It’s nothing. It’s nothing.” Junsu mutters, looking away as he feels his cheeks go hot for no apparent reason.
“There is a reason behind your actions.” Yoochun says mechanically yet somehow his voice had a lively tone. “That is what is logical. Please do tell me.”
Junsu stares at it. “It’s like you’re really human. It’s like you’re really real.” There’s a hint of melancholy in his tone. Yoochun notices it.
“But I am real. I am not a figment of anyone’s imagination. Well, I had been but I was made real by my master. My creation linked fantasy to reality. Therefore, I am real.”
Junsu could only force a smile.
Changmin has incredible powers of observation and it didn’t slip his eye that Yoochun works more efficiently whenever Junsu’s around than whenever he’s not. He even conducts an experiment or two just to prove the validity of this theory and, soon, the theory becomes a fact.
He examines Junsu, wanting to know what’s in his best friend that gets his android’s motor running, literally. But his results are inconclusive. Junsu is just an average guy with an average IQ. There is nothing superficially interesting in him other than the fact that his bottom seems to be fuller and rounder than average. And Changmin’s sure that he didn’t add in a program that could induce a sexual (homosexual) drive in his android. Yoochun didn’t even have a program for emotions as far as Changmin could remember. And, for the record, Changmin’s big brain can hold an infinite amount of memory.
He checks Yoochun just to be sure. What he finds out, however, baffles him. It’s the first time that Changmin has ever been baffled by anything.
“Come again?” Junsu opens his mouth in disbelief as Changmin throws a bombshell at him the minute he came through the door of the lab.
“Yoochun developed emotion all on his own!” Changmin screams in excitement at his discovery.
“Are you sure it’s on his own? I mean, you’re not crediting it to yourself?”
“I usually would but this, this is amazing! I’ve programmed it to be logical, intelligent, rational, mostly left brained functions, all of the left brained functions. The only right brain functions I’ve added in are only in terms of spatial perception and minimal philosophy. Emotion was the last thing on my mind and yet I’ve noticed in the past few days that there are signs of it in him! I studied his behavior further and had the following conclusions: one, he does have emotion, quite minimal at this time but seeing his behavior I deduced that it will develop more in the future and, two, since there I haven’t programmed it in him it can only be by nurture, not nature, which means that it comes from his environment! And I found one significant, pivotal factor in all of this.”
“And what is that?”
“It’s you, hyung.” Changmin says seriously but still with a hint of his dramatic flair in his tone. “I’ve studied interaction between you and Yoochun extensively. He is more efficient and more active whenever you are physically present in the room. And, think about it, I’ve been termed as an emotionless, almost robotic person by everyone in my family. I do admit that my right brained functions are almost inactive and since you are the only remaining living person that Yoochun has been exposed to, you are the most logical factor that affects him. I’ve even tried calling Jaejoong-hyung and Yunho-hyung. They met Yoochun and interactions with them never had the same effect as interactions with you!”
Changmin catches his breath and stares at Junsu who’s only staring at him. It is apparent that the older man is speechless. Silence descends upon them for a few seconds until the android breaks it.
“Master, please do not talk like I am not in the room. It is quite uncomfortable, especially with Junsu-sshi here. It is apparent that he is also uncomfortable with the facts that you presented.”
“So is it true?” Junsu asks once Changmin left for a lecture he was scheduled to conduct.
“What is it that you deem as true, Junsu-sshi?” Yoochun smiles so brightly that Junsu almost sees flowers, sunshine and everything beautiful and normal in it.
“That you… developed emotion on your own and that…” Junsu hesitates for a moment. “And that… I helped you, I guess.”
“I am not the genius, here, Junsu-sshi. My master is and if he said so, it must be the truth.”
“I guess you’re right. You’re lucky Changmin’s not here. If he was, his already huge ego will get bigger.” Junsu chuckles and Yoochun tries to imitate it. The android’s first attempt sounds weird but his tries again and it sounds more normal now. It makes Junsu smile but the smile fades away as soon as it comes.
“What is bothering you, Junsu-sshi? You smile then frown. I do not understand that.”
“Nothing. It’s just… I don’t see how I could help you in that. I’m not the genius one. I only help my best friend. Don’t you think that Changmin made a mistake on that?”
“I have seen Master work hard on his experiments. I find it hard to comprehend that he made a mistake when he gave his best to check it over and over again.”
“But… Even he didn’t have the answer as to why it happened. And he usually haves all the answers.”
Yoochun stares directly into his eyes and Junsu sees the same life and liveliness he sees in any other person. “Maybe that part does not need any answers. I have read this book and it is printed there that some questions in life are not meant to be answered. Life is supposed to have mystery. That is what makes it interesting to live life. Searching for the answers to everything is not necessary.”
Junsu doesn’t know how to react.
“What is love?” Yoochun asks it out of the blue. Junsu had been so accustomed to the android being himself that Junsu sometimes forget he is only technically a few months old.
“It’s a kind of feeling.” Junsu answers. “I thought Changmin installed extensive knowledge in you. You should know more details about it than me.”
“I know its definition. Merriam-Webster defines it as either a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties or affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests. Christian Philosophy describes it in several ways, agape, phileo or eros. Shakespeare defines love in his Romeo and Juliet as ‘a smoke raised with the fume of sighs; Being purged, the fire in lovers' eyes, being vexed, a sea nourished with lovers' tears. What is it? A madness most discreet, a choking gall and a preserving sweet.’”
Junsu smiles humorlessly. “I honestly didn’t understand all of that but I agree with it being mad.”
“Yes. But knowing only the definition is not enough.”
Yoochun doesn’t say more but Junsu already knows what he means. The android wants to feel it, feel it like how humans do. Junsu doesn’t know exactly what to say. Silence falls upon them for a moment before Yoochun smiles weakly and Junsu slowly pulls him in for a hug. It takes the android a moment before he hugs back.
Behind them, Changmin watches silently. The answer had eluded him for long but now, it was right in front of him. Love. It sounded cliché and something straight out of a romance novel that he never bothered to pick up. But Changmin now understands.
The scientist turns his back to them and goes on to continue his research about how to further develop artificial life.
Romance, G
A/N: Attempt at the Halloween contest fic. The idea behind this was made into a 2Min fic originally but I added in lots more details for the YooSu version (YooSu Version was 5 pages in Word while 2Min was only 2 pages T____T oh what my OTP does to me...) It starts off crack-ish but gets more serious in the end OTL
“It’s time.”
Changmin says it dramatically. Maybe too dramatically as Junsu almost cringes in shame for his best friend. But what else can he expect from an “evil genius” (as Changmin called himself) besides a little bit of madness every once in a while? Wait, scratch that. Shim Changmin is the epitome of a brilliant mind who erased that fine line between genius and insanity ever since he was brought into this world. So it’s not just “every once in a while” that Kim Junsu-the assistant/best friend of this mad scientist-is subjected to crazy, idiotic, out-of-this-world yet somehow still brilliant experiments. It’s more like every day.
And tonight is no different. A fan of superstition and classical literature, Changmin wanted this experiment done at All Hallow’s Eve with the skies filled with dark clouds, falling rain, thunder, and lightning. Lots and lots of lightning. For the past few weeks Junsu had been scouring the weather forecasts on the end of October and found them all to be far from what the scientist wanted. But Changmin, whose 167th childhood dream was to give life to the story of that legendary being with perhaps a modern twist to it, wanted to do the experiment so badly that he constructed a weather machine in just an hour. And it’s exactly that contraption that Junsu is currently tinkering with.
“More lightning, more lightning!”
Changmin screams dramatically as if he were playing a character in a stage play. Junsu rolls his eyes and looks outside to see more and more lightning stream through the gray clouds against the inky black sky. He mutters a silent apology to the children who wanted but cannot go out trick or treating or to attend a Halloween party.
“Blame this evil maniac.” Junsu mumbles as he sets the contraption to high and more lightning comes out.
Changmin laughs maniacally and screams, “Pull the lever, Igor!”
Junsu makes a face. “Yah! I know you are getting too much into character but, what the hell, Changmin?”
“Fine. Fine.” The scientist pouts. “Junsuie-hyung, please pull the lever. Thank you!”
“That’s better, I think.” Junsu mumbles as he moves towards the edge of the room where the lever was. He pulls it and Junsu suddenly has this idea that his best friend should really have been a stage actor instead of a dangerous scientist then perhaps the world would have been a better place. He abandons the idea, though, knowing that no theater in the right mind would hire someone like Changmin so he resorts to just watching the lightning runs through the metallic rods that were sticking out of the opened roof. Junsu watches, too, as his forever-dramatic best friend raise his arms up and almost jump, at the same time screaming, “It’s alive! It’s alive!”, despite the fact that the thing on the makeshift table still hasn’t shown any sign of life.
After five minutes, Junsu pulls the lever again and turns off the weather machine. He walks up to Changmin just as the scientist is pulling the white sheet off the thing.
“You do know that the lightning show was really unnecessary, right?” Junsu asks.
“I know. But I cannot resist. Ever since I was three years old I’ve always imagined an older me creating life with the help of lightning and on All Hallow’s Eve. I’ve idolized Dr. Frankenstein then and still do now.”
“Changmin, first of all it’s called Halloween here in the 21st century. Second, you’ve idolized all brilliant minds from Einstein to Tesla to even that dog we saw on TV. Third, thank goodness you didn’t build this from old cadavers and such. I’ve been actually afraid for a week thinking you’ll do that.”
“Hyung, as much as I love experimenting with the dead in the name of science, evil science, I can’t. They smell and the smell would make me lose my appetite and you know that is the most horrible thing that could happen to me.”
“Yes, yes.” Junsu answers almost exasperatedly. “I’ve already memorized the story of how significant your appetite is by heart, thank you very much. By the way,”-Junsu slowly pokes the thing on the makeshift table and feels something exactly like human skin-“this isn’t made from real skin, is it?”
Changmin smiles proudly. “No, hyung. I made this synthetically and, humbly speaking, I think that this is one of my most brilliant, simple inventions of all time! It’s really like real human skin! I’ve constructed it using animal fats, synthetically manufactured proteins-”
“Save me the lecture, Changmin-ah and just turn this thing on and you can actually yell out ‘It’s alive!’ or something.”
“Fine.” Changmin makes a face at Junsu before facing his best creation, so far, and turning the switch on.
The android opens his eyes and stares at the world for the first time.
Changmin names him Yoochun, a name that was previously owned by a guinea pig that was used in an experiment for genetic engineering. Junsu agrees that it was better than the scientist’s first choice which was Quibbling Nagini Longbottom. Way better.
Changmin spends the remaining hours of Halloween tinkering with Yoochun, perfecting any primary glitch the android shows. Junsu spends the night watching Changmin and assisting him here and there. He secretly gets a little uncomfortable as the androids’ seemingly lifeless eyes stare at him the whole time. Junsu shrugs it off as simply the effect of exhaustion and the ghost movies he watched earlier that day.
Language, logic and every internal piece of knowledge, both simple and complicated (besides movement as it was programmed earlier on), are placed in a microchip. Changmin inserts this chip on Yoochun’s brain last and screws its head back on.
To Junsu’s shock, Yoochun’s first words are an introduction directed to him.
“It’s my greatest creation.”
“You say that every time, Changmin-ah.” Junsu exasperatedly answers the pompous and arrogant scientist.
“No, this time it’s for real. I mean, an android originally designed as a simple replication of a lesser form of a human being yet a definitely higher form of robot became more! I can humbly say that it’s one of the most brilliant inventions…”
Junsu blocks out Changmin’s self-praise as he stares at Yoochun. It had surprised both him and Changmin when they noticed his movements, actions, just everything seemed life-like. Accurately, it’s more than just life-like. In fact, Yoochun is almost human. His outer appearance, his voice, his speech, his actions… If Changmin hadn’t built it in front of him, Junsu would have believed Yoochun is really human.
“What are you looking at?” Yoochun’s voice is velvety, dreamy even. “Is there something on my face?”
A moving, talking android asking if something as normal as a spot of dirt was the reason for someone looking at it. Junsu almost laughs at the idea. He chuckles lightly and Yoochun’s lips instantly form a frown, and a perfect, good-looking frown at that. Junsu couldn’t help but stare.
“You are making me puzzled, Junsu-sshi.” Yoochun pouts perfectly.
“It’s nothing. It’s nothing.” Junsu mutters, looking away as he feels his cheeks go hot for no apparent reason.
“There is a reason behind your actions.” Yoochun says mechanically yet somehow his voice had a lively tone. “That is what is logical. Please do tell me.”
Junsu stares at it. “It’s like you’re really human. It’s like you’re really real.” There’s a hint of melancholy in his tone. Yoochun notices it.
“But I am real. I am not a figment of anyone’s imagination. Well, I had been but I was made real by my master. My creation linked fantasy to reality. Therefore, I am real.”
Junsu could only force a smile.
Changmin has incredible powers of observation and it didn’t slip his eye that Yoochun works more efficiently whenever Junsu’s around than whenever he’s not. He even conducts an experiment or two just to prove the validity of this theory and, soon, the theory becomes a fact.
He examines Junsu, wanting to know what’s in his best friend that gets his android’s motor running, literally. But his results are inconclusive. Junsu is just an average guy with an average IQ. There is nothing superficially interesting in him other than the fact that his bottom seems to be fuller and rounder than average. And Changmin’s sure that he didn’t add in a program that could induce a sexual (homosexual) drive in his android. Yoochun didn’t even have a program for emotions as far as Changmin could remember. And, for the record, Changmin’s big brain can hold an infinite amount of memory.
He checks Yoochun just to be sure. What he finds out, however, baffles him. It’s the first time that Changmin has ever been baffled by anything.
“Come again?” Junsu opens his mouth in disbelief as Changmin throws a bombshell at him the minute he came through the door of the lab.
“Yoochun developed emotion all on his own!” Changmin screams in excitement at his discovery.
“Are you sure it’s on his own? I mean, you’re not crediting it to yourself?”
“I usually would but this, this is amazing! I’ve programmed it to be logical, intelligent, rational, mostly left brained functions, all of the left brained functions. The only right brain functions I’ve added in are only in terms of spatial perception and minimal philosophy. Emotion was the last thing on my mind and yet I’ve noticed in the past few days that there are signs of it in him! I studied his behavior further and had the following conclusions: one, he does have emotion, quite minimal at this time but seeing his behavior I deduced that it will develop more in the future and, two, since there I haven’t programmed it in him it can only be by nurture, not nature, which means that it comes from his environment! And I found one significant, pivotal factor in all of this.”
“And what is that?”
“It’s you, hyung.” Changmin says seriously but still with a hint of his dramatic flair in his tone. “I’ve studied interaction between you and Yoochun extensively. He is more efficient and more active whenever you are physically present in the room. And, think about it, I’ve been termed as an emotionless, almost robotic person by everyone in my family. I do admit that my right brained functions are almost inactive and since you are the only remaining living person that Yoochun has been exposed to, you are the most logical factor that affects him. I’ve even tried calling Jaejoong-hyung and Yunho-hyung. They met Yoochun and interactions with them never had the same effect as interactions with you!”
Changmin catches his breath and stares at Junsu who’s only staring at him. It is apparent that the older man is speechless. Silence descends upon them for a few seconds until the android breaks it.
“Master, please do not talk like I am not in the room. It is quite uncomfortable, especially with Junsu-sshi here. It is apparent that he is also uncomfortable with the facts that you presented.”
“So is it true?” Junsu asks once Changmin left for a lecture he was scheduled to conduct.
“What is it that you deem as true, Junsu-sshi?” Yoochun smiles so brightly that Junsu almost sees flowers, sunshine and everything beautiful and normal in it.
“That you… developed emotion on your own and that…” Junsu hesitates for a moment. “And that… I helped you, I guess.”
“I am not the genius, here, Junsu-sshi. My master is and if he said so, it must be the truth.”
“I guess you’re right. You’re lucky Changmin’s not here. If he was, his already huge ego will get bigger.” Junsu chuckles and Yoochun tries to imitate it. The android’s first attempt sounds weird but his tries again and it sounds more normal now. It makes Junsu smile but the smile fades away as soon as it comes.
“What is bothering you, Junsu-sshi? You smile then frown. I do not understand that.”
“Nothing. It’s just… I don’t see how I could help you in that. I’m not the genius one. I only help my best friend. Don’t you think that Changmin made a mistake on that?”
“I have seen Master work hard on his experiments. I find it hard to comprehend that he made a mistake when he gave his best to check it over and over again.”
“But… Even he didn’t have the answer as to why it happened. And he usually haves all the answers.”
Yoochun stares directly into his eyes and Junsu sees the same life and liveliness he sees in any other person. “Maybe that part does not need any answers. I have read this book and it is printed there that some questions in life are not meant to be answered. Life is supposed to have mystery. That is what makes it interesting to live life. Searching for the answers to everything is not necessary.”
Junsu doesn’t know how to react.
“What is love?” Yoochun asks it out of the blue. Junsu had been so accustomed to the android being himself that Junsu sometimes forget he is only technically a few months old.
“It’s a kind of feeling.” Junsu answers. “I thought Changmin installed extensive knowledge in you. You should know more details about it than me.”
“I know its definition. Merriam-Webster defines it as either a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties or affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests. Christian Philosophy describes it in several ways, agape, phileo or eros. Shakespeare defines love in his Romeo and Juliet as ‘a smoke raised with the fume of sighs; Being purged, the fire in lovers' eyes, being vexed, a sea nourished with lovers' tears. What is it? A madness most discreet, a choking gall and a preserving sweet.’”
Junsu smiles humorlessly. “I honestly didn’t understand all of that but I agree with it being mad.”
“Yes. But knowing only the definition is not enough.”
Yoochun doesn’t say more but Junsu already knows what he means. The android wants to feel it, feel it like how humans do. Junsu doesn’t know exactly what to say. Silence falls upon them for a moment before Yoochun smiles weakly and Junsu slowly pulls him in for a hug. It takes the android a moment before he hugs back.
Behind them, Changmin watches silently. The answer had eluded him for long but now, it was right in front of him. Love. It sounded cliché and something straight out of a romance novel that he never bothered to pick up. But Changmin now understands.
The scientist turns his back to them and goes on to continue his research about how to further develop artificial life.